INN FAQ II. INSTALLATION OF INN 1.4
II. INSTALLATION OF INN 1.4


  1. As root, create directories: /usr/local/inn1.4 (this
     will be your $inn directory) and /usr/local/news.
     (Solaris 2.x, you have to create a user "news",
     good choice is UID=6, GID=13, home
     directory=/var/spool/news, shell /bin/csh, no password
     - account is locked, * in password field in /etc/shadow.
     Be sure, to create a new group in /etc/group "news"
     with GID=13.)

  2. Cd to $inn. Get the newest version of inn from:
     ftp.uu.net (192.48.96.9).  This file is in the
     directory: /networking/news/nntp/inn.   As for all
     binary files, please remember to set the file type in
     ftp to binary.

  3. From the same source and directory get the Frequently
     Asked Questions (FAQ) files:
       faq-inn-1.Z
       faq-inn-2.Z
       faq-inn-3.Z
       faq-inn-4.Z (this file)
       faq-nov.Z
     and any other files that may contain patches or 
     information.

  4. To uncompress the FAQ files type: "uncompress faq-*.Z.
     Print the FAQs and read them before proceeding further.

  6. In $inn type (with gnu tar):
     "tar -Zxvf innx.x.tar.Z
     This will extract inn files for compilation.

  7. Change directory to $inn/config, and type:
       cp config.dist config.data
       chmod 644 config.data
     Now use the vi editor to edit config.data.  You should
     select gcc as the compiler by changing the line that
     starts with "CC" to read "CC   gcc".  Many lines in
     config.data define the location of various files
     and directories.  It's OK to leave defaults, but
     check if you have ample space in the directory
     where the articles will be stored (/var/spool).  More
     information on where INN expects to find certain files
     is in: $inn/samples/innshellvars.  If necessary, edit
     the config.data and innshellvars to reflect your
     configuration.  Please make sure that specified
     directories and utilities exist on your system.
  
  
  8. Change directory to $inn.  Type: "make world".  Now
     type:
       cat */lint
     (Solaris 2.x - there is not lint included with
     Solaris 2.x.  One way to get Solaris 2.x version
     of lint suggested to me, is to get a 30 day trial
     package of the SunPro C compiler from Sun.  However,
     lint is not really needed, except for testing new
     code.  You can make a symbolic link from /bin/echo
     to lint.)
     lint will give you a list of compiler warnings and
     errors.  In addition, "make" creates in this step
     a file:  "$inn/Install.ms".  Print it by typing:
       nroff -ms Install.ms | lpr
     Install.ms is a manual for installation of INN written
     by Rich Salz, the author of INN.  There is a lot of
     important and interesting information in his manual.

  9. If you got no fatal errors from make, go to the
     $inn/site directory
     and type: "make all".

 10. There are some scripts and control files listed in
     inn-faqs and Install.ms that may be modified at this
     point.  For most installations, the default settings
     are OK.

 11. Now cd to $inn and type: "make install" to complete
     basic installation of INN.

 12. To finish installation of INN, run the BUILD script
     in the $inn directory by typing "sh BUILD".  This
     script will ask a series of configuration questions
     that are easy to answer.  Please note that if your have
     "history.*" files in your /usr/local/news directory
     from a previous or failed installation of INN, the
     BUILD script will not complete.  Rename them to
     "old.history.*" and re-run the BUILD script.

 13. You need a site that will feed news to you.
     This will depend on your geographic location and
     organization.  Ask a System Administrator of a site
     close to you for hints.

 14. Ftp to your newsfeeding site and get the "active" file
     from there.  Place this file in your /usr/local/news
     directory and edit it to your taste.  Remember to
     include the "control" and "junk" newsgroups.  Also, you
     have to edit the following files in /usr/local/news:
     newsfeeds, hosts.nntp, nnrp.access, inn.conf.
     Be careful with editing the "active" file
     with vi or textedit.  A common error is to leave a
     blank line at the top.  This error causes INN to
     crash with the message: "ME bad_active".  Depending
     on your setup, you will get this message in the syslog
     or on the console.

 15. To check for syntax errors in INN control files,
     file ownership, permissions and other things type:
       /usr/local/bin/perl /usr/local/news/bin/inncheck
     and correct any errors reported by inncheck.
     If your paths are set, it is sufficient to
     change to the /usr/local/news/bin directory and type:
       "perl ./inncheck" or "./inncheck".

 16. Look at the file "rc.news" in /usr/local/etc.
     It's advisable to enable the innwatch utility.
     Innwatch will throttle the newsserver when your disk
     will get full and prevent crashes.  Change the line
     starting with "DOINNWATCH" to read "DOINNWATCH=true".
     (Solaris 2.x: edit the innwatch.ctl file and replace
     df with /usr/ucb/df.  Default Solaris 2.x
     /usr/sbin/df doesn't understand the -i option.)
     Now type: "sh /usr/local/etc/rc.news"
     and look in /var/log/syslog for errors.  Also, type:
       ps -aux| grep news
     and check, if the innd process owner is news.
     
     On Solaris 2.x, the syntax is a bit different:
       ps -fu news

 17. In /etc/aliases create an entry: "usenet: <you, or
     root>".  Next type: "/usr/ucb/newaliases" to inform the
     sendmail program that the aliases file has changed.
     If you are running YP (NIS) on your network, you may
     optionally add the "usenet" alias to your YP aliases
     file.  If the machine you are installing INN on is the
     YP master and the file "/etc/aliases" is the source of
     the YP aliases map, you should type: "cd /var/yp"
     followed by "make".  Reboot and restart innd (see #16). 
   

 18. To get daily reports on the newsserver activity from
     the "news.daily" script and to enable the "expire"
     utility type: "/bin/crontab -e news" and insert the
     following line:
       40 23 * * * /usr/local/news/bin/news.daily delayrm
     or, if you are using overchan (in newsfeeds):
       40 23 * * * /usr/local/news/bin/news.daily delayrm\
       expireover

 19. To set-up complete logging of the server activities
     and have them ready for a report by the "news.daily"
     script, you have to edit your /etc/syslog.conf file.
     Insert at the end of this file the content of
     the syslog.conf file written by Rich Salz.  This file
     is in: $inn/syslog.  Please check, if you have the
     directories and files mentioned in Rich's syslog.conf.

 20. Run tests from your machine to the server (to your
     machine at telnet port 119).  See inn-faqs for details.

 21. After completing these test, be sure to delete the
     entry for your machine from the hosts.nntp file.  If
     you will not do it, your machine will be treated as a
     "feeder" and not as a "reader".

 22. Set posting. 

      a. Edit the /usr/local/news/newsfeeds file and add:
           <alias for your feed>/<full address of feed>\
           :*\ (for all local postings)
           :Tf,Wnm: (standard entry)

      b. Edit /usr/local/news/nntpsend.ctl file and add:
           <alias for your feed>:<full address of feed>::\
           -T1800 -t300

      c. Type: "/bin/crontab -e news" and insert a line:
           0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * *\
            /usr/local/news/bin/nntpsend
  
      d. Run inncheck (see #15).

      e. Post to misc.test and include "reply" in the
         Subject line, automatic responses will be mailed to
         usenet (see #17) within a few minutes.

 23. To start innd automatically at bootup, include at the
     end of your rc.local the following lines:

      #
      # Start INN news service - Internet News Daemon (innd)
      #
      if [ -f /usr/local/etc/rc.news ]; then
         /usr/local/etc/rc.news; echo "Starting INN news
				 service"
      fi
     
	(In Solaris 2.x there is no rc.local.  If you want
     to start INN automatically, you should create a
     script in /etc/rc2.d).

     NOTE: Please send me your solutions for boot time
     starting and shutdown closing of INN on Solaris!

 24. Watch the news.daily reports in your mail for any
     additional errors.  To run the news.daily script
     at any time manually, first su from root to "news"
     and type: "/usr/local/news/news.daily".  A mail to
     "usenet" should arrive within a couple of minutes
     and may report important configuration problems.



[Source:"INN FAQ Part 8"][ Archive-name:usenet/software/inn-faq/part8] [Last Changed:$Date: 1996/01/30 21:44:45 $ $Revision: 2.3 $]
[Copyright: 1996 Norman J. Pieniazek]
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